The country’s outstanding debt ballooned hit a record P13.64 trillion as of end-October, up by P123.92 billion or 0.92 percent from September’s P13.52 trillion, driven by more borrowings and weaker peso against the US dollar, the Bureau of the Treasury said Wednesday.
It said in a statement the increase was “largely due to the net availment of both local and external loans. NG [national government] debt has increased by P1.91 trillion or 16.31 percent since end-December 2021.”
The government’s domestic debt amounted to P9.36 trillion, P54.58 billion or 0.59 percent higher than the end-September 2022 level.
“For October, the increment to domestic debt was primarily due to the net issuance of government securities amounting to P55.83 billion while local currency appreciation against the US dollar trimmed P1.25 billion,” it said.
Domestic debt comprised 68.58 percent of the total debt stock and increased P1.18 trillion or 14.50 percent since the beginning of the year on continued preference for domestic financing to mitigate foreign currency risk.
